The Folded Flag

Welda McKinley Grider

In this patriotic time of year, between Memorial Day, Flag Day and the 4th of July, do we give much notice to the symbol of freedom?

Sadly, I ask this. We give little thought to those who came to this country for that freedom and those who paid the ultimate price.

Those of us who were born into this country and those of us who have not been handed a perfectly folded flag, know little of who we are as a nation or why we are a nation.

Two hundred and forty years ago the rebels who lived on American soil took up arms, did not do so to fight for freedom, they took up arms for the idea of freedom.

A free country at that time was only a concept - not a right and certainly not a reality. But for this idea they pledged their lives and all they had in property, knowing they could be killed as a traitor because they were indeed traitors. Some were killed and some died as paupers.

We are guaranteed to be created equal and be born free. After that, it is up to our wits, our mind and our strong back to create life we either strive for or settle for.

Sadly, if we do not grasp the full meaning of freedom, we will not die free.

"Leveling the playing field" means you have equal opportunity to succeed; it does not mean everyone else should fail at the same level.

I've learned a lot from the legal immigrants I've been fortunate enough to know.

One fellow named Peter came out of the Czech Republic in the luggage department of a bus. If he got caught, he would die.

He is very concerned about the direction of our nation. He lived through socialism and communism and he doesn't want his new country, the United States, to take the same road.

Another fellow came out of Russia and no matter how hard I tried, he wouldn't tell me how he got here.

I have a friend who cleans houses so her boys can have good clothes, iPods and a good education.

Fernando, 17, recently was selected for a trip to Washington, D.C. He saw first- hand the monuments of the country his parents sacrificed so much to come to.

He is the son of immigrants who did not come to this country to take advantage of it but to add to it.

It is immigrants like that that make us proud to be a nation of immigrants. However, that is being lost in the debate of how much we should give to illegal immigrants who have no desire to be part of this country or give anything back.

These new Americans had to take lessons in our history and they were made to swear to uphold the American Constitution. I wonder how changed we would be if we really understood our history and had to swear to uphold our Constitution?

Think about this: Men before 1776 had such a strong belief in freedom they were not only willing to fight and die for that generation, but for all the generations that followed.

The men who fought in the World Wars and the women who took up the nations labor force, not only fought for that generation but to end all wars for future generations.

All the other wars fought since then have not been for American freedom alone, but for the unwavering belief that all men should have the chance at freedom.

America has been accused of "interfering" in other nations. Does giving someone the opportunity to be free sound like interfering to you?

Would your life be different if the only desire you had for your kids was for them to be free?

There are only two reasons that there are wars: To cause oppression or to buy freedom. The rest is secondary.

How much would you sacrifice for freedom?

On the other hand, how much are you willing to throw out to oppress? Because every law that we allow passed that takes away God given rights is an act of oppression.

As you fly Old Glory this month - think about the fact you are flying the Flag and not being handed the Folded Flag.

To those who have been handed the Folded Flag - because I have not paid the ultimate price, nor has my immediate family, my heart goes out to you. I will pray for you and yours.

I will do anything in my power to not let your sacrifice go unnoticed. I am fully aware that the red strips in our American Flag signifies the color of Blood - those who went before and those who follow.

There are only two people who offered to die for you - Jesus Christ and the American soldier.

One died for your soul and one died for your freedom. Never take either one of those for granted.

America’s Destiny Must Be Freedom

by Ray Nothstine

Ralph Waldo Emerson described America as “the land that has never become, but is always in the act of becoming.” Many Americans don’t feel that way as pessimism has replaced a once vibrant optimism about the future. Economic malaise, crippling debt, and a mammoth oil gush in the Gulf Coast are daily reminders of seemingly unmovable obstacles.

Bob Herbert wrote a New York Times column echoing the sentiment of an aimless America titled “When Greatness Slips Away.” While many claim to have the answers to our economic woes and lack of confidence, we would do best to return to the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the American Founding, and our freedom narrative. In past crises, they have been sources of American endurance and strength. They can be again.

Those sacred words from the Declaration—“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”—have been an inspiration to billions of people at home and abroad for centuries. Freedom from excessive centralization of power and the right of the citizenry to flourish without undue interference are hallmarks of what it means to be American. And while the federal government has used activism for good at times, most notably for securing civil rights in the American South, it is revealing itself more and more as the obstacle to progress.

Many in the academy and the modern left scoff at what they call the “Horatio Alger myth.” Alger wrote stories such as “Ragged Dick” and “Only an Irish Boy.” He told stories of poor children achieving the American dream through hard work, determination, and virtue. But Alger also depicted an important spiritual component to his impoverished characters. He gave them dignity and natural rights, just as our founding document did. His tales reflected the kind of egalitarianism that asserts that the value and dignity of a destitute human person is equal to that of another born into prominence and prosperity. These ideas grew right out of our religious heritage and founding.

But if Alger’s stories were not myths before, they will be soon. Future generations’ enjoyment of the liberty to flourish is in jeopardy. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, last week called the $13 trillion national debt the “biggest threat to our national security.” Annual interest on the national debt in 2012 will grow larger than the entire defense budget. Currently 43 cents of every federal dollar spent is borrowed.

This kind of dependency is antithetical to our tradition of self-reliance. Pick up any honest textbook about American history and the march of America is about freedom and opportunity. On the day of the invasion of the greatest army of liberation ever assembled, General Dwight D. Eisenhower told his armed forces “The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” These men are often called “The Greatest Generation.

Succeeding generations may call our own “the debt generation” as their dreams become enslaved to deficits so colossal that they sap their entrepreneurial spirit, savings, and earning potential.

Big government activists are already using the BP oil spill to double down on their claim that the federal government is too small, even while the federal response is crippled by a multilayered bureaucratic decision making process and excessive regulation. Others say the BP oil spill is the perfect sign that America’s economic and moral might has peaked.

In his 1993 Inaugural address, President Clinton said, “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” It’s a simple yet profound point. Similarly, the primary reason Russell Kirk penned The Roots of American Order in 1974 was to remind his country of the moral bedrock at its base, and to thereby show the way to how it could maintain greatness. In the first chapter, Kirk quotes a passage from the book of Job saying if the nation lacks foundation and order “even the light is like darkness.”

As American citizens pontificate about the future of America this July 4th, they should ask themselves what they can do to curb the contraction of liberty and promote its expansion. It is the citizens, thankfully, who will decide America’s destiny.

Song Of The Day #350

As requested by Joe Delk for this 4th of July edition of Ranch Radio, here is Diamond Rio performing In God We Trust.

NMSU men’s rodeo team places in top 10 nationally

The New Mexico State University Rodeo team continued their national winning streak at the 2010 College National Finals Rodeo June 12-19 in Casper, Wyo.

NMSU sent 10 student athletes to this year’s CNFR. To qualify for the CNFR, a student must place in the top three in their event in the region, or place in the top two in the all-around standings.

Bo Simpson, of Las Cruces, N.M., won first place in round one of the tie-down roping. JoDan Mirabal, of Grants, N.M., placed 14th. In round two, Johnny Salvo, of Horse Springs, N.M., and Simpson received fourth and 20th, respectively. Simpson placed seventh, Mirabal placed 10th and Salvo placed 12th in round three.

In round two of the team roping, Rodee Walraven, header, of Datil, N.M., and Salvo, heeler, placed seventh. They also placed sixth in round three, with Mirabal, header, and Corban Livingston, heeler, of El Paso, Texas, placing seventh. Walraven and Salvo came back to win third place in the short go.

Jordan Bassett, of Dewey, Ariz., placed fifth in round one and 12th in round two of the barrel racing.

In round one of the breakaway roping, Staci Stanbrough, of Capitan, N.M., received second, with teammate Jessica Silva, of Tularosa, N.M., placing 17th. Belen, N.M., native Carleigh Marr placed 12th in round two.

Stanbrough also placed 13th in round three of the goat tying.

In the final standings, the men’s team placed sixth overall and the women’s team placed 16th. Salvo received the honor of the 2010 CNFR Reserve All-Around Cowboy, and Simpson’s horse, “Shorts My Fancy,” was named the American Quarter Horse Association Reserve Champion Men’s Horse of the Year.

“The team represented NMSU awesomely both in the arena and in the community. All of our kids spent at least one or more of their days filling sand bags for the Red Cross up there. They are great kids and I am proud to have them on our team,” said Megan Corey Albrecht, assistant NMSU Rodeo coach and 2008 National Goat Tying Champion.

NMSU

Stanbrough wins Walt Garrison Top Hand Award

New Mexico State University all-around cowgirl Staci Stanbrough accepted the Walt Garrison Top Hand Award during College National Finals Rodeo in Casper. The Garrison Award is given annually to the individual who exemplifies the qualities of initiative, loyalty, tenacity, commitment, honesty, perseverance, integrity and leadership. The award is named for Walt Garrison, the former pro football player for the Dallas Cowboys. This is the 11th year the award has been given during the CNFR. Stanbrough and NMSU will each receive $2,500. Stanbrough also received a belt buckle commemorating her award. Maintaining a 4.0 gpa throughout her four years, Stanbrough has worked diligently for the perfection of straight A's, always a personal challenge for her. Her high school academic record was the same perfect 4.0. Stanbrough has accomplished her academic excellence while rodeoing fulltime on the NMSU women's rodeo team, qualifying for Nationals three of her four years in college. During the CNFR, Stanbrough was elected the Student President of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association...more

Damning report on oil spill response

The Democratic congressional majority has had little stomach for its duty of overseeing the Obama administration. Unfortunately, this has resulted in strictly partisan oversight as Republicans on the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee step into the vacuum. But at least there’s someone keeping an eye on this administration, because the press hasn’t always been so hot on it. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the committee’s ranking member, has announced he will release a report later today on the oil spill response. It appears to bolster criticisms from both the Left and the Right that have rained down on the administration since this disaster began. Here is part of the preview he provides: Phantom Assets “The number of assets claimed [by the White House], however, does not appear to match what is actually in the field. This is corroborated by Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, who shared a similar story with investigators. BP and Coast Guard provided Mr. Nungesser with a map of the Gulf allegedly pinpointing the exact locations of 140 skimmers cleaning up oil. Sensing that the chart may have been somewhat inaccurate, Mr. Nungesser requested a flyover of the assets for verification. After three cancelled trips, officials admitted to Mr. Nungesser that only 31 of the 140 skimmers were ever deployed. The rest were sitting at the docks. According to Mr. Nungesser, the chart appeared to have been fabricated.”...more

You can view the report here.

Volunteers ready but left out of oil spill cleanup

The Coast Guard said there have been 107 offers of help from 44 nations, ranging from technical advice to skimmer boats and booms. But many of those offers are weeks old, and only a small number have been accepted, with the vast majority still under review, according to a list kept by the State Department. A report prepared by investigators with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., detailed one case in which the Dutch government offered April 30 to provide four oil skimmers that collectively could process more than 6 million gallons of oily water a day. It took seven weeks for the U.S. to approve the offer. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Thursday scorned the idea that "somehow it took the command 70 days to accept international help."...more

Investigation of fatal bear mauling could take months

If history is any guide, it could be months before wildlife officials finish their investigation into the June 17 death of a man near Yellowstone Park killed by a grizzly that had just been trapped, tranquilized and released. Seventy year-old botanist Ewrin Evert of Park Ridge, IL was killed near his cabin on Kitty Creek, about seven miles from the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. There were no witnesses. On June 29, Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team leader Chuck Schwartz told the Associated Press, "federal wildlife authorities outside the team will conduct the investigation." How long can Evert's widow, daughter, and friends expect to wait before the investigation is completed? On October 30, 2001 a hunter field dressing an elk was killed by a grizzly on the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area northeast of Missoula, Mont. There were no witnesses to the incident. The report was released on December 14, 2001. The investigation of Evert's death promises to be contentious. Wildlife officials claim a trail leading to the bear trapping site, and the trap site itself, were closed. Evert's family strongly disagrees. It's not known if the Park County Sheriff's Department will verify claims the area was closed, or investigate Evert's death...more

Forests of red tape

Some $30 million in federal funds authorized by Congress to clear beetle-killed trees in Colorado’s high country has been bollixed up by a federal planning process and, as a result, isn’t getting into the forests to do the work it’s meant to do. Udall worked hard to ensure the $30 million was authorized in the federal budget for the 2010 fiscal year. Once it was, affected communities expected the money would be put to work by now — the heart of the summer fire season — clearing beetle-killed trees near towns and rural residential areas. After all, a major reason for allocating the money was to protect communities from fire danger. Instead, it has been bogged down in a planning process involving three federal agencies that are supposedly trying to identify where the top priorities are for tree removal. Setting priorities for spending the money and removing trees is definitely important. But it shouldn’t be an excuse for doing nothing, nine months after the fiscal year began. Planning is not an end in itself. At least it shouldn’t be. The Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service obviously need to pick up the pace...more

Forest Service, Ad Council launch integrated 'Smokey the Bear' campaign

The US Forest Service and the nonprofit National Association of State Foresters (NASF) have partnered with The Ad Council to launch this year's “Smokey the Bear” forest fire-prevention campaign. The effort launched June 30. This year's version of the 66-year-old campaign is an integrated effort that includes TV spots, static and rich media banner ads, e-mail, mobile and social media. Draftfcb, the pro bono agency on the account since 1944, created the campaign, while creative agency Animax worked on the social media components. “Smokey the Bear's message has evolved from just a prevention message to an intervention message,” said Ellyn Fisher, VP of PR and social media at The Ad Council. “It is not only telling people to take precautions, but to act like Smokey and intervene when you see someone acting irresponsibly.”...more

From prevention to intervention - sounds like the story of our government.

Song Of The Day #349

Here is Patsy Montana's 1938 recording of My Dear Old Arizona Home.

21 Die in Gun Battle Near U.S. Border

Nearly two dozen people were killed in a Mexican border area on Thursday during a fierce gun battle between suspected members of rival drug gangs, Mexican authorities said. The bloodshed took place only 12 miles from the U.S. border, in Sonora, a state that is a popular tourist destination famed for its beaches but whose interior has increasingly been consumed by drug violence. Prosecutors said the battle was a showdown between two rival drug and migrant-trafficking gangs, who sprayed gunfire at one another in a sparsely populated area near a dirt road between the hamlets of Tubutama and Saric, an area frequented by traffickers, the Associated Press reported. The shooting culminated in the deaths of 21 people, with Mexican authorities taking another nine people into custody, including six with bullet wounds. The Sonora state Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that nine people were captured by police at the scene of the shootings, six of whom had been wounded in the confrontation, according to the A.P. Eight vehicles and seven weapons were also seized. All of the victims were believed to be members of the gangs...more

Prosecutor Shot Dead in Mexican Border City

The prosecutor in charge of internal affairs at the Attorney General’s Office of the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua and one of her bodyguards were shot dead in the border city of Juarez, state officials told Efe on Thursday. Sandra Ivonne Salas was killed around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the northwestern section of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico’s murder capital. Salas’s slaying pushed the number of murders in Juarez, located across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, to 303 in June, making it the deadliest month of the year, state officials said. The prosecutor, who was in charge of internal affairs, analysis and evaluation of operations at the AG’s office, was traveling with two bodyguards when she was attacked. One of the bodyguards escaped unharmed. Salas was responsible for evaluating the performance of AG’s office employees assigned to the special investigation units in the northern section of Ciudad Juarez. She was also heading up the investigation of Maximo Miranda Figueroa, a former AG’s office agent arrested in Costa Rica and accused of stealing public funds, dereliction of duty and obstruction of justice. Salas, moreover, was involved in the probe into the Feb. 4 killing of Carlos Soltero Cano, a 33-year-old AG’s office employee in charge of an anti-kidnapping unit...more

Five Mexican Governors Have Received Death Threats

The governors of five Mexican states have received death threats from organized crime groups, Tabasco Gov. Andres Granier Melo said. Granier Melo said he and the governors of Veracruz, Fidel Herrera; Tamaulipas, Eugenio Hernandez; Sinaloa, Jesus Alberto Aguilar; and Chihuahua, Jose Reyes Baeza, all members of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, “have (received) threats from criminals.” “The federal government has full knowledge” of the threats, Granier Melo said in a statement. The Tabasco governor attended the funeral Tuesday of Rodolfo Torre Cantu, who was running for the governorship of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas at the head of a coalition led by the PRI and was killed along with four other people by gunmen...more

Ballistics tests run: Workers at City Hall unfazed by shots that hit building

The bullets that hit El Paso City Hall on Tuesday -- apparently from an AK-47 rifle -- could have easily come from a shooting about half a mile away in Juárez, officials and experts said. El Paso police would not disclose anything on the shooting Wednesday, but said ballistics tests are being conducted on two bullets found at City Hall. Five bullets hit the west side walls, one hit the north end of the building and another went into an office. Police spokesman Darrel Petry would not offer any new information on the shooting, but Mexican police said the bullets might have come from an AK-47 rifle, which fires a bullet capable of traveling more than half a mile. Petry said the trajectory of the bullets indicate to police that they were losing some of their velocity when they struck the building and might have come from a fatal shooting that occurred about half a mile away in Juárez. City Manager Joyce Wilson said the group of employees who were meeting in the office where a bullet pierced through "hit the floor and crawled out of the office."...more

Gunfire from Juarez usually heard, not seen

The gunfire from Juarez that struck El Paso City Hall on Tuesday was unusual. But it is not uncommon for U.S. Border Patrol agents to hear the sound of gunshots from Mexico. Border Patrol agents posted along the Rio Grande have reported hearing shots as the violence has boiled in Juarez, though officials said it is uncommon for bullets to cross the border and strike in the U.S. "Typically, agents hear gunshots south of the border but as far as an incident like this (City Hall shooting) no," said Agent Ramiro Cordero, a spokesman for the Border Patrol. Cordero said agents are vigilant, especially because of the drug violence in Juarez that has killed more than 5,000 people since 2008. El Paso police said they believe the seven shots that hit City Hall were rounds from a shooting in which a Mexican federal police officer was killed on a Juarez street near the Rio Grande. For residents near the border, the sound of guns can be surreal. The City Hall shooting is not without historical precedent. About 100 years ago during the Mexican Revolution, El Paso buildings and El Pasoans were hit by shots fired from Juarez. The brick walls on the south side of the old laundry building on South Santa Fe Street still have the pockmarks of revolutionary bullets. In 1919, things got so bad that 3,600 U.S. troops rolled into Juarez to stop the fighting and help protect U.S. lives after three soldiers were hit by stray bullets, according to El Paso Times archives...more

Unfortunately, you can't believe a thing Cordero says.

The Southern Border Could Get Much Worse

Police Chief Jeff Kirkham of the border town Nogales, Arizona, told Tucson Channel 9 (ABC) news that he has received threats that the Mexican drug cartels will start using snipers to target on- and off-duty police officers from across the border. Given the fact that Nogales sits right on the border with the town of Heroica Nogales on the other side, the threat is entirely credible and feasible. Heroica Nogales would provide ample places to hide within sniper range of many parts of Nogales. With an effective range of over one mile, modern rifles could easily target U.S. citizens and police in an eerie echo of the siege of Sarajevo in the Bosnian war. If snipers start setting up shop in Heroica Nogales, we certainly won't be able to count on the Mexican military to take care of the problem. The cartels clearly don't fear the Mexican military, given the enormous intimidation and bribery that they are able to bring to the table. Leaked stories of massive Mexican military corruption and intimidation are commonplace in the border regions. Given that the Mexican military would be of dubious worth, what options are left for the Obama administration to deal with the problem? Would Obama fire predator missiles into Mexico from drones to take out snipers, or would the risk of a real military conflict with the regular Mexican army and civilian casualties make that option out of the question? Would counter-snipers be employed to take out drug cartel snipers? Given Obama's reluctance to deploy anything more than logistic personnel from the National Guard to the border, the answer is likely "no." If Obama will not authorize return fire, what is the game plan for the police and civilians being shot at from across the border? If Obama did authorize return fire across the border, how would Mexico react to military snipers from our side shooting drug cartel snipers from theirs? Finally, what would the rules of engagement be? Would American military snipers be authorized to take out anyone deemed a threat, or would the life of a police officer or civilian have to be taken before they can fire back? Even the military will admit that counter-sniper operations are complex and fraught with risk...more

Deepwater Disaster

Washington is finally accepting international help for dealing with the crude spill in the Gulf. It took only 70 days of gushing for the White House to agree to the aid. The delay is inexcusable. On Day 3 of the Katrina wreckage, the Bush administration waived coastal laws, including the Jones Act, to keep oil production and shipping moving. The White House, widely condemned for its handling of the hurricane's aftermath, didn't go begging for a waiver, wring its hands or consult with union leaders. Michael Chertoff simply said "I am exercising my discretion and authority to waive the coastwise laws" because "such waivers are necessary in the interest of national defense." As director of Homeland Security, Chertoff had the authority — and the backing of an executive office that was hustling to prevent the Katrina problems from spreading. On Wednesday, after as much as 137 million gallons have flowed from the broken BP well, the plodding Obama White House announced it was accepting help from 12 countries — of the 27 that offered — in cleaning up the mess. What took so long? This White House has been scolded for refusing to waive the Jones Act, a union-backed protectionist law that says the vessels that carry merchandise between U.S. ports must be built and owned by U.S. citizens, and flagged in this country...more

Fort Carson, critics fight over heavier Pinon use

Fort Carson will be sending two battalions of the 4th Infantry Division to the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in August for several weeks of training — signaling an Army effort to increase its use of the 238,000-acre training ground, even as critics argue that effort defies a U.S. federal court ruling last year. Col. Robert McLaughlin, garrison commander at the Mountain Post, candidly acknowledged in a recent interview that the Army has made little use of Pinon Canyon for the past five years or longer, but intends to change that starting this summer. "Our plan is not to go above historical levels of training at Pinon Canyon," McLaughlin said. "We have not conducted brigade level training there in the past five years. On an annual basis, you'll be seeing more battalion rotations down to Pinon Canyon." For opponents, such as the Not 1 More Acre! group which sued the Army, the court ruling meant the Army is sharply restricted in what it can do at Pinon Canyon today, never mind expansion. In an e-mail response last week, the group said Matsch's decision means the Army cannot conduct more than four months of training per year on Pinon Canyon, as spelled out in the Army's original environmental analysis dating back to the 1980s when Pinon Canyon was established. "Historically, the Army has never used Pinon Canyon more than once or twice a year," the statement said. That was based on the Army's own records of its use of the 238,000-acre site...more

They haven't used what they have for 5 years and still claim they need an expansion?

The non-use for 5 years has apparently become an embarrassment and an impediment to their expansion plans, so they are now going to make sure it gets used.

The department of defense owns 30 million acres, 52% of which the Army controls.

They don't need more land. In fact, they probably don't need all the land they currently own. What they should do is bring better management to current holdings.

Johnson wants to meet with upset ranchers

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., said he is willing to meet with ranchers to discuss their concerns about their grazing activities on federal grasslands that would be part of a 48,000 wilderness area near the Badlands National Park. Johnson said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday morning that his bill to create the federal wilderness -- the first on national grasslands -- will protect the land without infringing on the existing rights of landowners to graze livestock and control noxious weeds and prairie dogs. Most of the land already is managed as an area without roads, he said, so the wilderness designation will extend that protection in law. "It is managed as wilderness country now, and this does not take away from that," Johnson said. "If anything, the rights ranchers have now will be improved under this wilderness bill."...more

Senator, grazing was an after thought in the Wilderness Act; a compromise to get the bill passed. It is stuck under the Special Provisions section of the bill and is considered by many to be a nonconforming use.

There is no grazing occurring on the original allotments in the Gila Wilderness. Come on Senator, look what wilderness has done to ranchers all over the west.

And I'm sick and tired of having politicians, environmentalists and the media tell me grazing, border security, etc. "will be improved" under wilderness. It's a distortion of the facts used to bamboozle the local folks and get them to agree to wilderness designations.

Well, the local folks are catching on and you're going to need a new ruse to fool them.